Alumni@Work Sherry Wallace

Meet Sherry Wallace, Brockville Business Grad

Brockville business alumnus Sherry Wallace graduated St. Lawrence College with a certificate in Business in 2016. She came into the program with a desire to update her education and business terminology, as well to increase employability, and came out with the desire and ability to own and operate her own business. Ebb & Flo is located in the beautiful downtown Brockville and is worth the visit.

What made you decide to come to St. Lawrence College for Business?

“Michael Jackson.Yes, Michael Jackson [The program coordinator]. I met him before I "signed up".He is what made me say yes.I felt he was someone who knew business.Not only a teacher of business, but a seasoned practitioner.In my opinion, having a teacher with real world experience "in the field" is the best a student can hope for.”

What did you get out of the program?

“The program in itself is an introduction to the world of business, and "people skill" lessons which go beyond the text book.What I got out of the program is exactly as I expected, a well-rounded business understanding.What I didn't expect was the side effect of positivity which offered every student the encouragement and education needed to succeed.The Business program is a "starting again" program as much as it is a "just starting" program.”

“The program helped me to focus on my business plan as a whole, every aspect of operation, from budgeting, margins, profit and loss and marketing.Focusing on the "homework" helped me to focus on the necessary tasks needed to open and to operate the business.”

What was the most important thing that you took from the program?

“The most important part of the learning experience is how to deal with others.You are in a room with people you wouldn't normally socialize with, whose lives are entirely different than what you know.You are forced to work with them in class, just like you will be forced to work with them in the future, maybe not that one individual, but someone with the same personality traits.That's the part of education which I feel is the most important.The learning of people and what roles they play in your working and personal world going forward.You may never see them again, or you may work with them one day.You have to work with them now.You will learn from them, you will learn about them, you will learn how to "deal" with them.That's not something anyone planning to be in the working world should be without. The education isn't just about the books, it's about reading people.Going forward it is the one lesson they aren't "teaching" you but you are learning.That "lesson" is what makes the difference between success and failure.”